OK, those weren’t the exact words used by Gina Vernaci, PlayhouseSquare senior vice president of theater operations, after announcing the seven shows in the Cleveland-based organization’s 2014-15 Broadway Series, but that was the gist.

“Everybody knows these shows — they know the music,” she said. “It comes from the greatest musical catalogues of all time.”

Vernaci unveiled the show March 25 at the Palace Theater, to media and an enthusiastic crowd that cheered after each show was announced, sometimes even before, when Vernaci was just starting to describe it.

“What surprised me was in talking about ‘Newsies,’” she said. “Just as I was leading up to the description and talking about selling newspapers, people started cheering — they knew where it was going.

“Newsies,” winner of 2012 Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Choreography, is based on the 1992 movie musical that had Christian Bale portraying 17-year-old Jack “Cowboy” Kelly, one of many homeless and orphaned kids in 1890s New York City who sold newspapers to live.

“There’s been a pent-up demand for that show. People were hoping it was going to tour last year, but it didn’t go out.”

Another show that was warmly received also was adapted from a film. “Kinky Boots” comes from the 2005 film of the same name that featured “12 Years a Slave” star Chiwetel Ejiofor.

According to a news release from PlayhouseSquare, “the inspirational story follows a struggling shoe factory owner who works to turn his business around with help from Lola, a fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos. Together, this unlikely pair finds that they have more in common that they ever dreamed possible.”

Cleveland audiences have waited to have it confirmed on stage that nobody puts Baby in the corner. A tour of “Dirty Dancing” — based on the beloved 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey — was supposed to run at PlayhouseSquare in June 2010, but it was scrapped.

The show has played to 1 million people in a five-year run in London, and Cleveland audiences will have a chance to see it before Broadway, Vernaci said.

“It’s a show that is reinvented and back out on the road,” she said. “It’s a huge hit, a fan favorite.”

The next Northeast Ohio holiday season is likely to be a white one anyway, so “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” — based in part on the 1954 film — is coming just to be safe. It can’t be all that easy to snag such a show for your December slot.

“It’s very tough to book because, you know, you can’t tour ‘White Christmas’ in July, so there’s a very limited time when that show can be on the road,” said Vernaci, who said they’ve had it in there “queue” for about three years. “We’re very excited to have it coming.”

While a point of the evening was to announce new shows, another was to get season subscribers to renew, and Vernaci made it clear how important they are to the organization. She said a group that monitors such things has made it official — PlayhouseSquare has more season ticket holders — more than 29,000 — than anyplace else.

“I can assure you that while I’m standing here on stage,” she told the crowd, “the spotlight is on all of you.”

After the event, which also boasted performances from the Broadway cast of “Motown the Musical,” Vernaci said the night was significant.

“It says that Cleveland is the greatest city in America to be presenting Broadway tours,” she said. “People show up when you just want to talk about Broadway. We had 4,000 people over the last two days sign up to want to come to be a part of this.

“It’s a great testament to the community, and frankly it’s only because the audience shows up that we have what we have here at PlayhouseSquare,” she continued. “Shows are nothing without someone sitting in the seat and watching it. It’s a very important part of the equation.”

Broadway Series subscriptions, ranging from $70 to $610, are available by calling 216-640-8800 or going online. Tickets to individual shows will be available at a later date.

About the Author

Mark is a lifelong Northeast Ohioan and an Ohio University grad. Along with loving music, movies and television, he is crazy about sports and tech. Reach the author at mmeszoros@news-herald.com
or follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkMeszoros.